Aspects of the Function of Technical Consultants in Civil and Criminal Proceedings in Italy

An expert is a natural person with an appropriate knowledge in a specific field that may be used by a court in cases requiring specific knowledge. In Italy, the expert institution, governed by the Code of Civil and Criminal Procedure, is divided into experts (ex officio technical consultants) and party experts (technical consultants of the parties). An ex officio expert is granted the status of a court assistant, while party experts are granted the status of technical defenders, integrating the advocates work. Legal norms provide for certain norms of the relationship between an ex officio expert and party experts, which follow the principles of adversarial and transparency. Such reports allow the ex officio expert to integrate his own research and deduction with the observations and reservations of the expert parties, in an effort to achieve objectivity.